A Sweet Week With Bonnibel
by anti-viper
Summary: Dismayed by the recent turns in their relationship, and seeking both relaxation and reconciliation, Princess Bubblegum decides to use Jake's absence from the Tree Fort as he and Lady make puppy-arrangements to spend a week hangin' with Finn. Hmmm, isn't there an old saying along the lines of, "The best laid plans..."? (Fubblegum seven-parter, slightly fluffy)
1. Silly, Sweet Boy

**_A Sweet Week With Bonnibel_**

**Chapter 1: Silly, Sweet Boy**

Princess Bonnibel Bazooka-zooka (there was a gag order on using her middle name in the Candy Kingdom for reasons that need no explanation) Bubblegum was nothing if not resourceful; her delicious pink brain loved twisting this way and that through mental labyrinths Theseus would gawk at, ducking under limbo bars topped with efficiency-based equations, and exploring a problem from all angles, just as the 700 Eyed Frog of Loamancraft does.

And more often than not, the thinking was for the sake of her people's and friends' happiness or at least the greater good (okay, an occasional morally-questionable experiment or two as well).

In other words, she had purposefully been working her tush off to free up this week for some serious Finn-time; very pleasant time indeed. Bonnibel Bubblegum knew her hero well, and knew that Jake moving out must be hitting him pretty hard. As far as she knew, Finn had no memory of a time when he hadn't lived with their furry friend.

The Princess had also maintained a slight unease about his relationship with Flame Princess, as though she still felt tremendous guilt about having locked her away for so many years, she had done so for a reason. Flame Elementals were already unstable, and Flame Princess was on another level of instability altogether.

Thankfully, it seemed the girl's aging had slowly rendered her matrix a great deal less volatile, and as long as they didn't get to smoochin', the land of Ooo was in no danger. But she knew how impulsive Finn was (and how stubborn), and being a Flame Elemental, Flame Princess was even more so likely to act without thinking. Of course, Bonnibel was also worried for Finn's health, mental and physical. He was still so young, after all.

Bubblegum felt that in some way, she should be happy for him, though; that he had finally moved on and found someone else, no matter how dysfunctional said relationship was. And yet, she wasn't. Odd. Perhaps her fear of an explosive ending to the relationship was just too great.

All of these points having been considered, she had taken care of any royal duties that were scheduled for the week in advance. Both Lemongrabs had been given scratching posts with disco-lighting that would keep them busy for at least a month, she had sent Marceline a bushel of Licorice in exchange for a promise of no funny business, and she had prepared Peppermint Butler for the task of ruling in her place adequately.

There was always the off chance of a dimensional tear or some true tragedy occurring, but she liked to think countless benevolent acts and selfless service would had earned her at least this LITTLE break, especially since it was far from selfish.

After all, besides her goal of checking up on Finn, she and Lady Rainicorn had been actively plotting this getaway for both of them. The plan had been fairly simple: the Lady would convince Jake to move in with her until the puppies were born, and simultaneously get it into his mind that he needed to stay with her for good, while the Princess herself would visit Finn and keep him company.

Both knew it wouldn't last as they were well aware the puppies would grow incredibly quickly, and as such didn't feel much guilt for tricking the boys, considering they would only think the situation permanent the final night of the week. But it was a needed week for the very pregnant Rainicorn, and a much wanted vacation for the Princess that was also, from her perspective, necessary for yet another reason, it being perhaps her greatest motivation to plan such an excursion.

Bubblegum would never deny how much Finn's friendship meant to her, and that sudden swipe in the night, her scissors slicing open his cheek… that next moment, his eyes wide in disbelief and unspeakable hurt, even going so far to HISS at her… Glob, she had felt wrecked. Worthless. As if she had failed him, and after having months to contemplate her mistake, she realized quite plainly that she had. Hurting him emotionally time and time again was bad enough, but something about physically injuring him had truly shaken her down to her candy-corn painted rock-candy toenails.

A week to patch things up was a grand idea in that regard, and she just hadn't had enough weird shenanigans, well-meaning and honest compliments, and terrible jokes thrown her way for awhile. She felt like a box of chocolates that had gone all melty. A healthy dose of Finn would perk her up right away, and hopefully she could do the same for him.

And though the Princess worried he would take her insistence on spending time with her as a romantic ploy (which it wasn't), which would be terrible considering his bonkers relationship with Flame Princess, she figured her intellect would allow her to explain it quickly and thoroughly.

And so Bonnibel Bubblegum walked through the Grasslands, whistling a merry tune. She was garbed in a yellow sundress (one of the few colors she was able to match with pink frequently), and had packed another day of clothing in case Finn sought fit to let her spend the night. They hadn't had a sleepover in FOREVS. It had been… what? When he and Jake had first claimed the Tree-Fort, and she had journeyed to their door to introduce herself and got sucked into spending the night due to a rain storm?

The Princess couldn't help but blush at the memory, just as she had that day at Finn's first words towards her, his bubbly 11 year old face looking over her body from head to toe as if she were a Goddess, then leaning in and taking a small whiff of the air surrounding her before proclaiming, "YOU SMELL DELISH!" Silly, silly, silly, sweet, silly boy.

With a satisfied smile at the realization that she had arrived at the great wooden structure, Bubblegum thought of the best way to get his attention. She figured he would be napping, as he often did when a negative event descended upon his life of adventuring. As such, she simply reached down for a small pebble, and with uncanny accuracy flung it high into the air, the rock bouncing off Finn's window.

CLANK

"Phuwaw? Chicken in a basket?" Finn muttered as he blinked, his head digging into his pillow and his rump pointed skyward, slowly emerging from sleep. "We're all out of bleach. Come back in November."

CLANK

"HEEBAWHATZITZ!" He shouted, leaping onto his feet in a ninja pose, ready to unleash icy Shinobi ish on any fool. However, as his eyes surveyed his bedroom, all appeared quiet.

CLANK

This time he caught the sound, leaping and spinning 180 degrees to just catch a pebble bouncing off of his window.

"Why are you rocks disturbing my naps?" He muttered, his minor grief at his buddy being out of the house mixing badly with the kind of grogginess you needed some serious sugar to fix. "YO ROCKS, STOP SPANKIN MY WINDOW!" He shouted, pushing said window open, ready to give the rocks a piece of his mind.

The next rock Bubblegum tossed had a similar idea, apparently.

THUMP

Finn fell backwards as the slightly larger rock collided with his flat (and soon to be not so flat) forehead.

"Oh Glob! That is the exact opposite of what I wanted to have happen!" Bubblegum shrieked, her hands smacking against her cheeks with such force she felt the gelatinous mass of her body vibrate slightly.

"An impressive first strike, rock legion!" Finn shouted (clearly off his rocker from the impact to his thinking-noodles), and without further hesitation began to roll towards the hole leading down to the lower level. The resulting double-digit foot crash into the lower level's floor did nothing to un-lump his brain, and within moments he began walking on his hands towards the door.

Princess Bubblegum watched with slight horror as the Tree-Fort's door shook and shook, the handles' rattling all too audible from her position. She wondered whether BMO was trying to open it, if there was something strange within the fort, or if Finn was simply being a big goof and not opening it correctly.

In the subsequent moment, which featured the boy (still clad in his PJs) toppling over as he finally twisted the handle far enough with his feet and swung it open, Bonnibel congratulated herself on her knowledge of chaos theory. But before she could even get a word out to him, Finn was running through the lawn, punching every rock his beady and squinting eyes came across.

"YOU SHOULD HAVE STAYED PART OF A MOUNTAIN!" He screamed as his fist smacked into a boulder, the cracking of knuckles causing the Princess to wince and rush to his side. Once again, he evaded her via cartwheel before she could speak.

"I'M GOING TO GRIND YOU INTO SAND AND THEN HAVE A GUY I KNOW WHO OWNS A PICK-UP TRUCK COME PICK YOU UP AND DUMP YOU ON THE BEACH BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE YOU BELONG BUT I'M AFRAID OF THE OOOOCEAAAAAN!" Finn screeched, stomping on a smaller rock, his ankle bouncing off and twisting like a noodle with every downward thrust. Bubblegum blanched, and after swallowing the chocolate syrup that had risen from her stomach with some difficulty, dashed to him.

"Finn, I—" She started, halting with a frown as he flew off yet again, at full speed and heading for the trampoline he and Jake had won as a prize for beating Marceline in a game of Gray-Dodgeball (which was completely identical to regular Dodgeball except the balls, which were regularly red, were all a suspicious, muted gray). "…What on Ooo is he…?" Bonnibel whispered, her eyes immediately widening when realization about what Finn was about to strike struck her.

"RELEASE THE FINN BOMB!" The hero shouted as he leapt high into the sky before coming back down upon the trampoline, which nearly gave way to his exceptional force, but instead propelled him upward a good 17 ft. "YOUR MOTHER WAS LAVA YOU STUPID MOLTEN LOSER!" Came his final rallying crying as he dive-bombed head-first, his target a large, slightly jagged piece of what looked like granite jutting out from the ground.

With speed and athleticism she rarely displayed, Bubblegum pushed off her feet and collided with the youth, sending them both sprawling onto the ground. There tangle of bodies was an awkward one, and the Princess made sure to disengage from him before he awoke and the mashing of limps and torso on torso caused him to faint all over again. Though the contact made her blood rush slightly, she shook it off in an instant.

"Phewwww. All those years in varsity Dropball were really worth it," She huffed in pride of her feat, lifting herself off and wiping dirt off her dress. As she was oft to do accidentally when outside her kingdom, she brought a glob of it to her tongue and immediately spit it out when she realized it was not fudge, chocolate, or anything of the sort.

"Whoa," Shelby the worm remarked as he stuck his head out of the dirt pile she had tried to ingest. "That was way too fast for me. I'm just not ready for that kind of relationship. I mean… sham wow." Before Bubblegum could even BEGIN to explain what had happened (having to fight off the realization she had just had a worm on her tongue led to a delay), the sassy creature was gone, tunneling no doubt to a coffee shop.

"Welp. This has been a giant mess so far," The Princess stated, nothing in her presence foolish enough to argue the truth of that statement. Well, there was nothing around them really, and Finn was unconscious, but still. "Might as well check him for head trauma… It's so much harder to deal with non candy-beings when it comes to anatomy." That earned her a slight blush, and she silently cursed herself for thinking so lewdly. Bubblegum blamed Marceline in full.

Despite her lamentations about his injury, she was secretly gleeful she had both a reason to study a human head up close and to pluck off Finn's bear-cap and play with his fluffy, heavenly hair, dragging his head onto her lap. For a moment, she became caught in hypocrisy, directly remembering becoming aggravated at the boy for performing a similar action while conscious.

Bubblegum shoved the thoughts away as foolish since she was performing medical procedures, though noted in the back of her mind she should probably apologize or explain herself at least in the near future for the past incident. Or maybe just give him one of those hugs that made him squeal like a space-swine where she lifted him off his feet and spun him around like they were in some kind of ridiculous child's film where dreams actually came true.

Bonnibel blinked for a moment, wondering where on Ooo THAT thought had come from, before shrugging.

Without further ado, she combated her newfound angst by sinking her pink fingers through Finn's locks with ease, and after a minute of giggling at the sensation she got to work, feeling various bumps and bruises.

"Ah, just needs a large amount of external force applied to the right quadrant at about a 35 degree angle," She muttered as if the answer were as simple as fixing two slices of white bread with peanut butter and jelly and smacking them together. Without hesitation Bonnibel rose, and after propping Finn upright and holding his shoulder with one hand directed a stark punch into the back of his head.

Immediately the boy cawed like a Rooster, complete with his arms flapping as if they were wings, before they fell to his side and he froze, no doubt awash with confusion.

"Hey, Finn," Bubblegum said airily, waiting for him to caw yet again and catch his breath before she pulled him into a deep hug, ignoring the fact she had just been forced to protect the boy from him impaling himself on rocks. She had signed up for this willingly, and felt that as long as he avoided anymore brain damage (he had taken enough in years she had known him), things would be fine.

"H-Hey PB, nice to see you. Why are we outside though?" Finn questioned, and she could nearly feel him warm as he spoke. Realizing the hug was going on waayyy too long for her friend-zone to last effectively, she quickly parted from him, blushing much more than she should have and feeling (and what's worse, perhaps even appearing) quite flustered.

Finn definitely noticed, and whether or not he was surprised at their embrace somehow unnerving her, or just aroused by the contact was unclear, and to her own shock he was the one to brush it under the rug as if nothing had happened, asking, "And why am I in my pajamas?"

"Oh… sorry, I was trying to get your attention by throwing rocks at your window, and you opened it and… bam!" Bubblegum smacked her hand to her head, and Finn nodded.

"So I just went rock loopy? Makes sense. Those dang rocks," He replied, nodding solemnly. This perturbed Bubblegum, who smiled awkwardly and began to wonder if more brain work was needed as he grinned embarrassedly himself. "I mean… it's hard to explain. I have vague memories of punching the rocks around here. That accurate?" She nodded, and he sighed. "Yeah. Before you think I'm loco, let me show you our lawn's menace."

Taking her hand, Finn led her over to the jagged rock he had tried to leap on. "Take this big fella, for instance," He began, cracking his knuckles before clearing his throat. To her slight disgust he then reared back and hocked a spitwad onto the rock.

Bonnibel flew backwards in fright as the rock's eyes (BECAUSE APPARENTLY IT HAD THOSE) flung open, and it regarded Finn with a murderous glare. "Yeah, these stupid sentient rocks have been hanging outside the Fort and pranking us…" Finn frowned at the mention of Jake before shaking it up. "I'm kinda lost as to how to get them outta here."

"Have you tried hydrochloric acid?" Bubblegum asked casually, realizing post-speech her friend probably had no idea what that was and as such expecting Finn to freeze in confusion, but he simply shook his head, once again surprising her.

"That's what we were going to use next. First we tried to move them," Finn replied, frowning and glaring at the rock in front of him. "Then we tried to have Ice King freeze them – it was bunk, he made us promise to play 17 rounds of high-stakes bingo with him in return – so we could smash them easier, but that didn't work. Would you happen to have any of that acid junk?"

"Oh, yeah, tons," Bubblegum whispered in awe, swallowing a little. "I can get some for you tomorrow. Oh! Um, you free today?" She added the moment her true business with Finn finally popped back into her head.

Finn smiled and nodded. Somehow, she nearly felt foolish, like her underestimation and trivializing of his actions had been so obvious and condescending, and… what if they had seemed that way?

"Yeah, you want to hang out?" He asked, jolting her from her thoughts.

"Y-Yeah! I was actually wondering if you wanted to chill this weekend; I brought a change of clothes and I'm kind of free for both days for once," Bubblegum supplied, eyeing the door with intent.

Finn gulped, but nodded. He explained before she could inquire about the gulp. "Yeah, I might be a little tired because I have stuff tonight, but that's cool if you stay over. I um, need to ask FP though, tonight," He added, frowning as her own face fell. Bubblegum tried to catch herself just in time, smiling uneasily.

Her feelings for Flame Princess, as cordial as she tried to act around the girl and as gently as she tread while discussing her with Finn, were well known by him. Bonnibel truly wanted to ask him to not let the fire girl know, slightly afraid of her reaction, but didn't feel in was her place, so she replied with an affirmative.

"Cool!" Anything but, she cursed mentally as the forced smile remained on her face. "Let's go inside, then!" He was more than happy to escort her, but Bubblegum felt concerned; this wasn't going as well as she had hoped. Moreover, because Finn didn't seem like a silly boy anymore. He seemed much more like a silly man. That thought at least brought a warm smile to her face.

"I underestimated you; here I thought you would be a little down or lost without Jake," Bonnibel spoke honestly, hoping to diffuse any tension she had caused.

"I mean, I definitely miss Jake," Finn replied, not seeming offended in the slightest. "But I've lived on my own for different stretches. I'm just thankful I've still got BMO. Thanks for coming over too. It's really sweet of you for thinking about me like that, Peebles."

_Don't blush_, was the phrase running on loop in Bubblegum's head as she nodded. "No probz," She replied after another moment, trying to choose her words carefully. "It's just been awhile, and I didn't want you to be lonely. But you look like you have everything set."

Indeed, the fort was cleaned, neat, and a bowl of spaghetti was placed upon the counter, waiting for consumption. The next to speak was her own stomach, which rumbled terribly at the sight of her favorite meal.

"Want some? I can warm it up for you; BMO made it for me, but for some reason I lose my appetite whenever I deal with those stupid rocks," Finn said, smiling as she nodded and walking over to the bowl, picking up his demon sword, which was leaning against the wall, along the way. "Kee Oth Rama Pancake," He said clearly and nonchalantly, the bowl steaming slightly for a few seconds before stopping. "You have no idea how nice it is to have your sword function as an oven," The boy said cockily, handing her the hot bowl.

"…You should have some," The Princess said when he made no motion to fix himself his own bowl, but Finn shook his head.

"Nah, like I said, I'm good for now; had some earlier, too. Maybe later though," He replied, and with a cough, began to move toward the door. "I'm sorry to head out like this, but I actually have to leave about now. I'll probably be back late, so just crash wherevs and we'll do some cool stuff tomorrow. Dealsies?"

"Fo realizes!" Bubblegum finished joyfully, pounding his fist as he extended it. The contact lasted a second longer than it should have, but neither seemed to mind, and without another word, but flashing a wide smile, he turned and exited the house.

Bubblegum quickly frowned, and turned to examine the kitchen. Sure enough, no other bowl had been dirtied; he had just given her the whole batch because he knew she loved spaghetti. Silly, sweet, silly, sweet boy.

She sighed and shook her head, dividing her bowl's contents into another she quickly found in a cabinet, placing it in the fridge for his consumption later.

Still, she had to feel slight amazement and pride in Finn for how mature he had become. Minus the whole rock thing, which actually was kind of legitimate too (in the most illegitimate way possible, but hey, brain damage), he seemed very on top of things, and all the subliminal romance seemed to be coming from her for once. That statement made her freeze, but she immediately shrugged the thought off, it being so ridiculous.

For the rest of the night Bubblegum mostly read the various novels and other books lying around the Tree-Fort (she desperately hoped Finn wasn't following any of the advice of that dreadful J. T. Dogzone, regardless of whom he was dating), and played BMO (trouncing Jake's high score in Kompy's Kastle on her second try). Eventually, around midnight, she pulled out a worn math-mattress (a mattress inflated by mathematical knowledge you plugged into it) and inflated it by means of trigonometry.

The Princess was quite sad that Finn hadn't returned before she went to sleep; perhaps it was just her more maternal instincts popping in. She had also hoped they could spend some time together before they went to sleep, but now that looked like an impossibility. As such, she drifted off to sleep fairly easily, thanks to her complete willingness to avoid some very new, very odd feelings about a certain subject, though these thoughts did bounce around her brain's subconscious throughout the night.

The subject in question fell through his front door for the second time that day a few minutes later, though this time it was not due to trying to open it with his feet, but a result of his heavily charred skin and the immense pain it was bringing him. He felt like someone had rolled him in bacon grease and then thrown him in the middle of a desert.

Getting to his feet was a pain, and every subsequent movement afterwards stung or boiled just as badly. He had no intention to stop before he reached his room and bed, but the sight of the Princess elegantly wrapped in her sheets and making small yawning sounds in her sleep made his limp fall to a halt.

Finn allowed himself a small smile before turning and hauling his burnt body up to his bedroom, his own pain eclipsed by his utter terror of explaining his condition to the pink girl the next day.

* * *

_I've had this saved in my freaking documents for forever, but am generally adverse now to posting stories without clear knowledge of where they're going and some leeway in terms of at least partially written future chapters. Welp, this one finally qualifies, so we're off! Bout time I got some Finn/PB posted. Also, expect updates on my other stuff very soon. I finally have free time again, yippee!_

Minor Edit: Fixed whatever the hell happened with the last bit of the chapter. I guess the site didn't format the text correctly, because a giant blob of text was not my intention. Weird.  



	2. FinnBQ

**Review Responses (HOLY CREPES YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST 10?!):**

**Roberto: **_Thank you! _

**The Nephilim King Michael: **_Thanks! Finn has a rocky start in this fic._

**awesomelatt56: **_I shall! Thanks! It's only a seven shot so I'll definitely finish it._

** 10do: **_Thank you! It's weird, I had thought Fubblegum would have been big, but you're right. _

**Odradem: **_Thank you! I tried very hard to make the first chapter good and to make Finn in-character, so your comments mean a lot!_

**Abiyasha: **_Thank you! Sorry for the wait._

**Astrid Hofferman: **_Thank you! I really like to see that role reversal, because I think if they ever did become a thing it would be because of the Princess, not Finn._

**Antrxx: **_Yeahh… my updates aren't exactly good._

**Oddly Ginger: **_Thank you, that insanity is exactly what I've been trying to convey! Like, that's why I love Adventure Time. It's real but absolutely nut._

**Noah101: **_Hehe, I'm glad, it just came to me one day and I cracked up._

* * *

**Chapter 2: FinnBQ**

Princess Bubblegum had drifted through mild dreams through the night, but near dawn they began to take on a grim tone. The last one she dreamt involved the Marshmallow Kids falling into a fire pit, Bonnibel lacking any means to reach them and only able to watch in muted horror as their screams rose into the air along with a sickly sweet smell that slowly turned acrid.

As such, after her eyes burst open, her breathing quick and her body covered in a terribly unpleasant cold sweat, she was quite mortified when her nostrils were greeted with something that smelled equally as burnt, if not more so. A second later, and she remembered whom Finn had gone to see the past night, and that he had stayed out abnormally late as well.

Bonnibel usually didn't enjoy playing the game of jump to conclusions, but when she leapt off of her math-mattress, her gelatinous body quivering in fear, all she could imagine was finding a lump of ash next to Finn's white bear cap.

The truth was grizzly, but nowhere as extreme; she found the hero just outside of his room. He kinda looked like beef jerkey, with long streaks of burns and general charring present upon his entire body. In all, he looked incredibly messed up, the Princess reminded of victims of Fire Wolf attacks she had treated. After a quick analysis though, she determined he would survive, breathing out a long sigh of relief and immediately began to consider what healing methods she could muster on such short notice.

"Crap… I'm so sorry PB… I was supposed to get to my Cyclop's Tears last night so you wouldn't have to see me and… worry," Finn whispered, "worry" emerging as a grunt before he turned on his side and began to cough as if his lung was attempting to file divorce with his body. The Princess leapt to a stand and sprinted to his room to find the tears, disbelief that she hadn't thought of them at once running through her. The fact that the only logical explanation for such a blatant error was her own emotions getting the better of her at the sight of her close friend so horrifically wounded did little to settle her concern.

Bubblegum nevertheless returned quickly, coating the young boy in the healing potion and watching with bitter relief as his sears reverted back to smooth, peachy skin. She hadn't even considered that his shirt had burned off before now; his bear cap was thrown to the side and in good condition (unsurprising since it seemed to be indestructible, considering that as far as she knew he had owned it for his entire lumpin' life), but otherwise all he was wearing was his tight, blue shorts.

The Princess swallowed as the words "tight blue shorts" echoed in her head. Bonnibel knew Finn was getting more mature, but she had not expected his body to already be filling in with wiry muscle that gave a much more desirable definition to his boyish fat.

While she had always consider his pudginess… cute, it had never struck her as truly attractive, thought she knew many other females in Ooo who found it desirable, from LSP ("Oh. My. GLOB. I mean, his chubz love handles aren't really lumps, but do a bit of squeezing, and he might as well be a frickin' camel."), to Marceline ("When I squeeze his belly from behind he squeals like a little piglet, and I swear Bonnie, it's wayyy too adorable. I could almost puke."). Somehow during Bubblegum's less-than-PG thoughts her hand had ended up on his love handle, which she suddenly realized she was squeezing with mirth.

The hero giggled, and Bubblegum rescinded her hand with haste, flabbergasted that she had crossed such an obvious line; he was dating, for Glob's sake, not to mention that being so physically affectionate was contrary to all of the damage control she was currently in the midst of.

"…Oh, Princess… um… I don't mean to not be rad, or something," The young man replied after he caught himself, rolling away and blushing profusely. She matched it as her eyes zeroed in on little specs of bubblegum her grip had imbued onto his skin.

"No, NO, I'm so sorry, that was completely out of line, Finn!" The candy girl cried out, bowing low in apology. "Your upper body is just incredibly pleasing to the eye as it fits the male-archetype I enjoy, so I started squeezing unconsciously, and—" Her face might as well have popped, so mortified Bonnibel became after it struck her that she had spoken so sexually. Scientifically and articulately, yes, but still much too sexually. She might as well have just slapped his buttocks, stuffed him into a waffle suit, and poured syrup down his chest, for Grod's sake.

The Princess winced, flummoxed from her obvious signs of arousal that probably were striking the boy, who's stomach fat she had just groped, just as hard.

Finn's beat-faced stare of disbelief made it clear that he knew at least half of what she had just said, and she couldn't blame the youth for smiling awkwardly a moment later, having unexpectedly won a true compliment from her regarding his physique. And somehow, that red tinged face pulled into a confused but touched grin made her train-wreck of actions worthwhile.

"I-I really appreciate you helping me, with the tears," The hero started (the Princess filled with gratitude that he had decided to shift the subject), now on his feet and folding his long, shining hair into place.

"Don't mention it, Finn," She answered, smiling warmly at him. "It's good that I stayed over." Finn's face fell for a moment, and Bonnibel immediately began to overanalyze this, deducing her foolish lack of self-control in terms of flirtation had perhaps begun to wane on him, or worse, that he was just going through the motions out of obligation and didn't want her in his presence whatsoever.

"I-It is, Princess, I'm really glad you're here. It's been way too long since we did some junk, just the two of us," He returned, not meeting her eyes, and refuting her hypothesis. At "just the two of us", hazy memories of pranking Lemongrab and staring at sunsets from the towers of the Candy Castle filled her mind.

Finn coughed, obviously unable to put his feelings into words. "It's… it's just…"

"…H-How did you get burned?" The Princess asked pleadingly, tired of beating around the bush while knowing full well the answer, and desperate to lock onto a subject not involving the two of them.

The boy's face hardened and his eyes chased a few cracks upon the wooden floor before he sighed, opting to go with the truth as far as she could tell.

"Flame Princess lost control of her flames for a few seconds, and we were in a grassy area," Finn began to explain, speaking slowly, his voice quaking here and there. "I mean, you know, PB. She's a Flame Elemental. And, you told me specifically after we nearly made Ooo go boom with that… kiss… that she's even unstable for them. It really wasn't her fault, and she kept saying she would carry me back if she could, and that she should get help, but I didn't want to scare her, so… I told her I'd be fine and came back alone."

Bonnibel nodded, smiling despite feeling nausea reminiscent of eating bad nachos in the pit of her stomach. "You could have gotten hurt, you silly goose," She replied in a failed attempt at lightheartedness, gently punching his shoulder. "Be more careful, k?"

"Agk! My shoulder! My adventuring days are over! Now all that's left for me is becoming a living statue! I shall stand in the center of the Candy Kingdom, forever pelted by bird-stuff!" Finn exclaimed suddenly, rearing over and spinning to the ground dramatically, hurling his tongue out of his mouth and closing his eyes.

The two shared a warm smile and a laugh, the Princess especially amused and comforted by his antics and offering a hand to help pull him back up.

"But… seriously, I know. I'll be more careful," Finn said a moment after, his smile catching as her own faded. "PB? What's wrong? You can say it."

"…It's just," She whispered, reaching her arm out and squeezing his shoulder. "Did Flame Princess lose control because you mentioned me spending the night?"

"…I mean," The boy began, frowning. "Yeah, but it's not your fault, Peebles. And it's not hers either. It just happened, and there's no reason we can't hang out today. That would still be rad as a happenin' Dan playing a jam on a tin can. Ya know?"

Bonnibel smiled through her ache that she had nearly indirectly incinerated him, as well as a still lingering fear that the Fire Elemental had not been quite so innocent as Finn claimed, and replied, "You're right. I just… don't want to hurt you."

As it turned out, before that verbal miscue could result in another gawky exchange, a loud shout from below made things even more uncomfortable for the both of them.

"Yoohoo! Finn honey!" Jake's voice rang through the Tree-Fort. "I'm hoooOOOOOOME! And you didn't even burn the house down! Guess you and FP didn't try werkin' your way up the tiers then, hehe. If you don't get to nine before you're 16, I'm kicking you out! Ain't no slackin' when it comes to love. You have to grab yo' hunny, drab some mesquite BBQ sauce on your lips like your smackers be some tender chicken, and get lucky in Kentuck—"

Princess Bubblegum's face was unfortunately very near melting in embarrassment, whilst Finn had simply taken the exponential increase in romantic tension as a cue to put on his clothing, when Jake walked into the hallway they occupied and became well aware of the right-in-the-unresolved-feelings bomb he had set off.

Upon finding the Princess and Finn in the hallway, alone, the candy girl waving at him weakly and his brother still wiggling his shirt on, the dog's eyes expanded. Jake raised a finger as if to speak, before lowering it and shouting, "EVASIVE ROLL!" careening through the wall and landing who-knows-where within the fort.

"I brought some nice bubble tea we should totally drink as we pretend the last several minutes never happened," Bonnibel said quickly, feeling almost childish because of how terribly things were going.

"S-Sure, Princess. You mind getting a pot ready while I use the Jeffrey?" Finn asked, his teenage mind far from functional, and as such completely blanking on the slang term for toilets and latching onto the first name that also started with a "j" he could think of.

"Okie dokie. It's a slow brew, so I'll get to it," Bubblegum answered, spinning on her heals, and walking away as casually as she could manage.

Thankfully, the process of making tea always soothed her, and in a minute the waft of fresh cooking leaves began to spread through the kitchen (though lighting the kettle on fire with Finn's sword hadn't done great things for her whack angst).

The giant mess of accidental, risqué hinting and misspoken statements had nearly worked their way out of her head when she detected raised voices from above her. The Princess was completely willing (too willing, most would say), to allow the end result to justify the means; she hadn't build her kingdom by being a complete sweetheart. As such, eavesdropping was not below her, especially if the conversation was obviously ABOUT her.

The battle morality was quickly losing came to an abrupt end when the voices reached shouting, Bubblegum standing still with a blank face as she listened in.

"Jake, I'm telling you NOTHING HAPPENED. Nothing. And how many times do I have to send my words into your ears before you STOP teasing me with all that tier-junk! The Princess looked as red as a plum, mang."

Bubblegum rubbed her shoulder anxiously… she could only remember Finn sounding this mad once in her life, and it wasn't a memory she was very fond of: the day she had tried to explain the failings of him and Flame Princess, and he had misunderstood and berated her, thinking her petty and jealous.

"LISTEN bro, I'm sorry, I didn't know she was here, but you can't just keep telling me nuthin' smeckzy was going on when you were SHIRTLESS in front of her! I'm not that thick! Heck, you know me, I can become really thin! So thin the lies hurt, Finn. THE LIES HURT!"

Bonnibel felt herself flush in a mixture of disbelief and anger (and maybe a little something else) at what Jake seemed to be implying.

"FINE! PB WANTED TO SPEND THE NIGHT, AND WHEN I WENT TO ASK FP IF IT WAS KOSHER, SHE ACCIDENTALLY BURNT MY TOAST, OKAY?! I HAD MY SHIRT OFF BECAUSE I RIPPED IT OFF WHEN I WAS GOING TO GET CYCLOP'S TEARS TO HEAL MYSELF, BUT I PASSED OUT BEFORE I COULD, AND I DIDN'T PUT IT ON UNTIL AFTER SHE HEALED ME WITH THEM. NOTHING. HAPPENED."

Oh, glob. Jake actually thought she had…

The Princess sighed deeply, palming her forehead before beginning to jog toward the shouting, determined to end the brothers' bellows.

"THEN WHY ARE YOU SHOUTING? You wouldn't be shouting if NOTHING had happened! Finn, I get it, you might have made a mistake, or maybe I caught you in the middle of one, it's alright! One time this Jack Russell Terrier nearly wrapped her leash around me at this bar by distracting me with an enchanted stick! The important thing is that, at least from what I can tell, I stopped you before—"

"JAKE THE DOG, ARE YOU IMPLYING THAT I, PRINCESS BONNIBEL BUBBLEGUM OF THE CANDY KINGDOM WOULD KNOWINGLY ENGAGE IN ILLICIT ROMANTIC CONTACT WITH A CLOSE FRIEND WHOM I KNOW TO BE IN A RELATIONSHIP!?" The pink girl shrieked as if she were a harpy with her talons tense upon rounding the corner, both males gasping at her presence, Finn's terrified face growing into a smile at her support while Jake slowly lowered his butt onto the ground and drooped his ears.

"…I just thought it looked a little shady," The dog grumbled, averting his eyes from Bubblegum and scratching his stomach.

"Well, I can assure you that regardless of how it looked, nothing of that nature happened," The Princess replied, softening her tone significantly and making sure her countenance did not divulge that her words weren't completely truthful.

"…Well, fine. Sorry I shouted and cart-wheeled through the wall," Jake huffed, his apology ringing quite insincere. "I was just stopping by for some Laser-Badminton with Finn, but I guess I'll head out, since he's got you." Without another word he gripped his legs onto a nearby window, and after giving them blood frosty glares, slung himself out like a slingshot.

Finn looked like Jake had stepped on his heart with a stiletto as he watched his brother disappear into the horizon. Bonnibel racked her mind for an apology, or words of comfort, or anything at all to just cut the silence that was weighing so thickly.

"…Is the shouting over? Why do you always fight!" BMO whispered, peaking its head out from behind a doorway and running up to Finn, karate-chopping his legs as electronic tears ran down its screen.

"…BMO, shhh, it'll be alright," The Princess whispered, squatting and smiling cheerily at her favorite sentient-game-console.

"Yeah, little buddy, common', stop leaking pain from your face," Finn added, but BMO would have none of it.

"No! NO! I cannot!" It cried dramatically, leaping back and pointing at both of them. "Love is tearing this family apart, and I cannot take it! I'm going into Sleep-mode, and if you try to turn me back on, you, you… snapper-whipper's, I will run away and join a band of Cantaloupe Gypsies!" With that, their troubled friend pressed one of its buttons and fell over.

"…Well, that's burnt cheese-burgers," Finn sighed, patting the console on the head before lifting it into his arms, and carrying it down the stairs. Bubblegum followed, watching as Finn plugged in BMO and then jumped backwards onto the couch.

After seating herself next to him a tad more daintily, the candy girl cleared her throat, and turned to face him. "Finn, I'm really sorry your affairs are so scrambled right now, and that… well, that I've made them worse."

"…Hey, Princess, don't get caught in a funk too," Finn replied, forcing a smile but doing a heckuva job making it look genuine. "It's not your fault. Me and Jake have just been… a little cranky around each other, since he's going to be a dad, and hasn't been around. And…" He grimaced, rubbing a spot on his abdomen Bonnibel recalled had been particularly torched.

"If it's about you and Flame Princess, you don't have to tell me, but I'm here if you wish to," Bubblegum whispered.

Finn slumped over, and the Princess was positive his hat's little nubs even began to droop. "Jake always is running his yapper about how I shouldn't talk babe-biz with other girls I've—with other girls I know," Finn began, rolling sideways so his head was resting on the couch's arm. "But, I disagree, cause how am I s'posed to know what ladies like if I can't ask 'em? And it also doesn't make any sense because if I want good advice, I would ask people with huge brains, right?"

"I mean, that is logical, assuming you mean people with high intelligence when you say, 'big brains'," His companion replied, suddenly conscious of her cranium's magnitude.

"Fo sho! Smart peeps is what I mean, not big mind-lumps!" Finn answered, groping his head as he spoke. "And if I wanted to ask the smartest people I know, I'd start with you, because you have calculations coming out your ears!"

Bonnibel blushed and laughed simultaneously, an image of the Pythagorean Theorem pouring out her pink hearing-apparatus amusing her to no end. "Well, I guess me telling you this is already breaking Jake's rules, but I think you should speak with whomever you wish," She finally replied after composing herself.

"Well… then, yeah. Me and FP have had some… issues," Finn said slowly. "She gets really upset, ya know, because sometimes we'll just be lying on the grass next to each other, and our face-windows will get tired and BAM I'm on fire. She's so nice, but feels horrible about how often I get hurt… and I don't mind the burns, but seeing how sad and disappointed she gets…"

"…I'm sorry, that's awful," Bubblegum spoke, to her surprise meaning her words entirely. Such a relationship sounded very sad. "You… Glob, Finn, I don't want to sound this way, but you don't think you'll ever get seriously hurt, right?" She asked very hesitantly, watching him come near shouting her out in anger to breathing shortly.

"No, PB. She would, like, never—"

"Finn! I know you think I don't like Flame Princess, and maybe I have thought she isn't best for you and that she would hurt you, but you know I understand!" The Princess pleaded, grabbing his hands in her own. "It would never be in anger! Or intended! She would accidentally hurt you, but still, I worry…"

She let go of his hands and slid into the couch. "And I've already hurt you so much…" Her hands slapped against her round cheeks in shock at her lack of self control.

Finn remained silent before he fell onto her in a hug, squeezing tightly, and saying with sniffling, "Princess, no, it's kay, I totally… heart-feel you! I know all your hurt was… accidental, too." He smiled his big goofy smile as he leaned up, still crying as he wiped his nose with his arm. "You know how much you mean to me."

_More than I'll ever realize, and maybe deserve, _The Princess thought with sudden derision towards herself.

"You wanna play Badminton, Prubs?" Finn asked, fixing her crown for her with another grin and holding out his hand. She grasped it, and off they went.

It was a glorious battle; Bonnibel's powerful lower body strength and Finn's all-out enthusiasm colliding with gusto, numerous dives and back-hand saves making every point vital.

Finn got the best shots in with the laser, naturally, sniping the Princess multiple times in the arms, legs, and abdomen, but never her face, which even in the middle of combat she found sweet.

So though Bubblegum was his superior game-wise, her body began to lag behind his due to his sharp-shooting and Finn began to press his advantage. It did not take long for the youth to be begin pounding the birdy with great strength, and quickly accrued an insurmountable lead. She was then honorably defeated, and rather than give a finishing blow, Finn tackle-hugged her and they both fell down laughing.

They spent the rest of the morning watching the blue sky, their arms just touching and their voices giddily rising and falling like the flickers of the Fire Elemental watching them in shock. So as Finn and Bonnibel felt bonded once more, and both perhaps felt older feelings stir, Flame Princess sulked off, boiling and seething with a mix of rage and desperate hurt.

* * *

_You know, Fubblegum really is adorable. I love making PB so brazen and then apologetic. Also, just writing Finn is a joy. Next chapter will be a bit more angst, though._

_Smokybear gets its fair shake here; at any rate, FP is not an antagonist, just caught in a bad situation. Marceline comes in next chapter too, giving advice to the disgruntled pink Princess. Nearly a third done, seven-shots are weird, yo. Thanks for reading!_


End file.
